The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. His translation of the commentary, the Dhammapada Atthakatha, presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha.[2]
Etymology
The title "Dhammapada" is a compound term composed of dhamma and pada, each word having a number of denotations and connotations. Generally, dhamma can refer to the Buddha's "doctrine" or an "eternal truth" or "righteousness" or all "phenomena";[3] at its root, pada means "foot" and thus by extension, especially in this context, means either "path" or "verse" (cf. "prosodic foot") or both.[4] English translations of this text's title have used various combinations of these and related words.[5][6]
History
According to tradition, the Dhammapada's verses were spoken by the Buddha on various occasions.[7] Glenn Wallis states: "By distilling the complex models, theories, rhetorical style and sheer volume of the Buddha's teachings into concise, crystalline verses, the Dhammapada makes the Buddhist way of life available to anyone...In fact, it is possible that the very source of the Dhammapada in the third century B.C.E. is traceable to the need of the early Buddhist communities in India to laicize the ascetic impetus of the Buddha's original words."[8] The text is part of the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka, although over half of the verses exist in other parts of the Pali Canon.[9] A 4th or 5th century CE commentary attributed to Buddhaghosa includes 305 stories which give context to the verses.
Pāli Dhammapada – the oldest available manuscripts date to 1500 CE. A compiler is not named.[10]
Although the Pāli edition is the best-known, a number of other versions are known:[11]
a Tibetan translation,[18] which is popular in traditional Tibetan Buddhism
"Mahāvastu" – a Lokottaravāda text with parallels to verses in the Pāli Dhammapada's Sahassa Vagga and Bhikkhu Vagga.[19]
"FaJuJing 法句经" – 4 Chinese works; one of these appears to be an expanded translation of the Pali version; this has not traditionally been very popular.
The Faju jing – translated and compiled by Weizhinan in 224 CE
The Faju piyu jing – compiled by Faju and Fali between 290-306 CE
The Chuyao jing– translated by Zhu Fonian in 383 CE
The Faju yaosong jing– translated by Tianxizai between 980-999 CE[20]
Comparing the Pali Dhammapada, the Gandhari Dharmapada and the Udanavarga, Brough (2001) identifies that the texts have in common 330 to 340 verses, 16 chapter headings and an underlying structure. He suggests that the three texts have a "common ancestor" but underlines that there is no evidence that any one of these three texts might have been the "primitive Dharmapada" from which the other two evolved.[21]
The Dhammapada is one of the most popular pieces of Theravadaliterature.[1] A critical edition of the Dhammapada in Latin was produced by Danish scholar Viggo Fausbøll in 1855, becoming the first Pali text to receive this kind of examination by the European academic community.[22]
Organization
The Pali Dhammapada contains 423 verses in 26 chapters (listed in Pali and English):[23][24]
Many of the themes within the Dhammapada are dichotomous. For example, contrasts between joy and suffering, virtuous action and misconduct, and truth and deceit recur throughout the text.[25]
Excerpts
The following Pali verses and corresponding English translations are from Ānandajoti (2017), which also contains explanatory footnotes.
Chapter 1: Pairs (Yamakavaggo)
1.
Mind precedes thoughts, mind is their chief, their quality is made by mind, if with a base mind one speaks or acts, through that suffering follows him like a wheel follows the ox's foot.1
Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā, manasā ce paduṭṭhena bhāsati vā karoti vā, tato naṁ dukkham-anveti cakkaṁ va vahato padaṁ.
2.
Mind precedes thoughts, mind is their chief, their quality is made by mind, if with pure mind one speaks or acts, through that happiness follows him like a shadow which does not depart.
Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā, manasā ce pasannena bhāsati vā karoti vā, tato naṁ sukham-anveti chāyā va anapāyinī.
5.
For not by hatred do hatreds cease at any time in this place, they only cease with non-hatred, this truth is surely eternal.
Na hi verena verāni sammantīdha kudācanaṁ, averena ca sammanti, esa dhammo sanantano.
The translation of this simile is debated. Suddhaso Bhikku interprets the simile as "just as a track follows a wheel." He argues that other interpretations involve adding words that are not a direct translation of the original text. Specifically, cakkaṁ means wheel, va means as, vahato means following, and padaṁ means track, path, or foot. [26]
Chapter 10: The Stick (Daṇḍavaggo)
131.
One who harms with a stick beings who desire happiness, while seeking happiness for himself, won't find happiness after death.
Sukhakāmāni bhūtāni yo daṇḍena vihiṁsati,attano sukham-esāno, pecca so na labhate sukhaṁ.
132.
One who harms not with a stick beings who desire happiness, while seeking happiness for himself, will find happiness after death.
Sukhakāmāni bhūtāni yo daṇḍena na hiṁsati, attano sukham-esāno, pecca so labhate sukhaṁ.
133.
Do not say anything harsh, spoken to they might answer back to you, for arrogant talk entails misery, and they might strike you back with a stick.
First one should establish oneself in what is suitable, then one can advise another, the wise one should not have any defilement.
Attānam-eva paṭhamaṁ patirūpe nivesaye, athaññam-anusāseyya, na kilisseyya paṇḍito.
159.
He should do himself as he would advise another to do, being well-trained, he could surely train another, for it is said the self is difficult to train.
Attānañ-ce tathā kayirā yathaññam-anusāsati, sudanto vata dametha, attā hi kira duddamo.
160.
For the self is the friend of self, for what other friend would there be?
When the self is well-trained, one finds a friend that is hard to find.
Attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā?Attanā va sudantena nāthaṁ labhati dullabhaṁ.
161.
That wickedness done by oneself, born in oneself, arising in oneself, crushes the one who is stupid, as a diamond crushes a rock-jewel.
Easily done are things not good, and unbeneficial for oneself, but that which is beneficial and good is supremely hard to do.
Sukarāni asādhūni, attano ahitāni ca, yaṁ ve hitañ-ca sādhuñ-ca taṁ ve paramadukkaraṁ.
164.
Whoever reviles the worthy teaching of the Noble Ones who live by Dhamma, that stupid one, depending on wicked views, like the bamboo when it bears fruit, brings about his own destruction.
Yo sāsanaṁ arahataṁ Ari yānaṁ Dhammajīvinaṁ paṭikkosati dummedho diṭṭhiṁ nissāya pāpikaṁ, phalāni kaṭṭhakasseva attaghaññāya phallati.
165.
By oneself alone is a wicked deed done, by oneself is one defiled, by oneself is a wicked deed left undone, by oneself is one purified, purity and impurity come from oneself, for no one can purify another.
Attanā va kataṁ pāpaṁ, attanā saṅkilissati, attanā akataṁ pāpaṁ, attanā va visujjhati, suddhī asuddhī paccattaṁ, nāñño aññaṁ visodhaye.
166.
One should not neglect one's own good for another's, however great; knowing what is good for oneself one should be intent on that good.
Atta-d-atthaṁ paratthena bahunā pi na hāpaye; atta-d-attham-abhiññāya sa-d-atthapasuto siyā.
Chapter 13: The World (Lokavaggo)
167.
One should not follow lowly things, one should not abide heedlessly, one should not follow a wrong view, one should not foster worldliness.
Hīnaṁ dhammaṁ na seveyya, pamādena na saṁvase, micchādiṭṭhiṁ na seveyya, na siyā lokavaḍḍhano.
Chapter 14: The Buddha (Buddhavaggo)
183.
The non-doing of anything wicked, undertaking of what is good, the purification of one's mind - this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
Whoever has delight in the calming of thoughts, who always mindfully cultivates what is unattractive, will surely abolish this craving, he will cut off the bond of Māra.
Vitakkupasame ca yo rato asubhaṁ bhāvayatī sadā sato, esa kho vyantikāhiti, esacchecchati Mārabandhanaṁ.
English translations
See also online translations listed in External links.
Daniel Gogerly, printed the first English translation of Dhammapada, comprising verses 1–255 in 1840 in Ceylon.[27]
Tr F. Max Müller, from Pali, 1870; reprinted in Sacred Books of the East, volume X, Clarendon/Oxford, 1881; reprinted in Buddhism, by Clarence Hamilton; reprinted separately by Watkins, 2006; reprinted 2008 by Red and Black Publishers, St Petersburg, Florida, ISBN978-1-934941-03-4; the first complete English translation; (there was a Latin translation by V. Fausböll in 1855).
Tr J. Gray, American Mission Press, Rangoon, 1881
Tr J. P. Cooke & O. G. Pettis, Boston (Massachusetts?), 1898
Hymns of Faith, tr Albert J. Edmunds, Open Court, Chicago, & Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., London, 1902
Tr Norton T. W. Hazeldine, Denver, Colorado, 1902
The Buddha's Way of Virtue, tr W. D. C. Wagiswara & K. J. Saunders, John Murray, London, 1912
Tr Silacara, Buddhist Society, London, 1915
Tr Suriyagoda Sumangala, in Ceylon Antiquary, 1915
The Buddha's Path of Virtue, tr F. L. Woodward, Theosophical Publishing House, London & Madras, 1921
In Buddhist Legends, tr E. W. Burlinghame, Harvard Oriental Series, 1921, 3 volumes; reprinted by Pali Text Society[3], Bristol; translation of the stories from the commentary, with the Dhammapada verses embedded
Tr R. D. Shrikhande and/or P. L. Vaidya (according to different bibliographies; or did one publisher issue two translations in the same year?), Oriental Book Agency, Poona, 1923; includes Pali text
"Verses on Dhamma", in Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon, volume I, tr C. A. F. Rhys Davids, 1931, Pali Text Society, Bristol; verse translation; includes Pali text
Tr N. K. Bhag(w?)at, Buddha Society, Bombay, 1931/5; includes Pali text
The Way of Truth, tr S. W. Wijayatilake, Madras, 1934
Tr Irving Babbitt, Oxford University Press, New York & London, 1936; revision of Max Müller
Tr K. Gunaratana, Penang, Malaya, 1937
The Path of the Eternal Law, tr Swami Premananda, Self-Realization Fellowship, Washington DC, 1942
Tr Dhammajoti, Maha Bodhi Society, Benares, 1944
Comp. Jack Austin, Buddhist Society, London, 1945
Stories of Buddhist India, tr Piyadassi, 2 volumes, Moratuwa, Ceylon, 1949 & 1953; includes stories from the commentary
Tr C. Kunhan Raja, Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar/Madras, 1956; includes Pali text
Free rendering and interpretation by Wesley La Violette, Los Angeles, 1956
Tr Buddharakkhita, Maha Bodhi Society, Bangalore, 1959; 4th edn, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1996; includes Pali text
Tr Suzanne Karpelès, serialized in Advent (Pondicherry, India), 1960–65; reprinted in Questions and Answers, Collected Works of the Mother, 3, Pondicherry, 1977
Growing the Bodhi Tree in the Garden of the Heart, tr Khantipalo, Buddhist Association of Thailand, Bangkok, 1966; reprinted as The Path of Truth, Bangkok, 1977
Tr Ananda Maitreya, serialized in Pali Buddhist Review, 1 & 2, 1976/7; offprinted under the title Law Verses, Colombo, 1978; revised by Rose Kramer (under the Pali title), originally published by Lotsawa Publications in 1988, reprinted by Parallax Press in 1995
The Buddha's Words, tr Sathienpong Wannapok, Bangkok, 1979
Wisdom of the Buddha, tr Harischandra Kaviratna, Pasadena, 1980; includes Pali text
The Eternal Message of Lord Buddha, tr Silananda, Calcutta, 1982; includes Pali text
Tr Chhi Med Rig Dzin Lama, Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, India, 1982; tr from the modern Tibetan translation by dGe-'dun Chos-'phel; includes Pali & Tibetan texts
Tr & pub Dharma Publishing, Berkeley, California, 1985; tr from the modern Tibetan translation by dGe-'dun Chos-'phel
Commentary, with text embedded, tr Department of Pali, University of Rangoon, published by Union Buddha Sasana Council, Rangoon (date uncertain; 1980s)
Tr Daw Mya Tin, Burma Pitaka Association, Rangoon, 1986; probably currently published by the Department for the Promotion and Propagation of the Sasana, Rangoon, and/or Sri Satguru, Delhi
Path of Righteousness, tr David J. Kalupahana, Universities Press of America, Lanham, Maryland, c. 1986
Tr Raghavan Iyer, Santa Barbara, 1986; includes Pali text
Tr John Ross Carter & Mahinda Palihawadana, Oxford University Press, New York, 1987; the original hardback edition also includes the Pali text and the commentary's explanations of the verses; the paperback reprint in the World's Classics Series omits these
Tr U. D. Jayasekera, Colombo, 1992
Treasury of Truth, tr Weragoda Sarada, Taipei, 1993
Ronald Corp's 2010 a cappella choral setting of Francis Booth's translation, released on Stone Records
Dhammapada - Sacred Teachings of the Buddha. Hariprasad Chaurasia & Rajesh Dubey. 2018 - Freespirit Records
Notes
^ abSee, for instance, Buswell (2003): "rank[s] among the best known Buddhist texts" (p. 11); and, "one of the most popular texts with Buddhist monks and laypersons" (p. 627). Harvey (2007), p. 322, writes: "Its popularity is reflected in the many times it has been translated into Western languages"; Brough (2001), p. xvii, writes: "The collection of Pali ethical verses entitled "Dhammapada" is one of the most widely known of early Buddhist texts."
^This commentary is translated into English as Buddhist Legends by E W Burlingame.
^See, e.g., Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 335-39, entry "Dhamma," retrieved 25 November 2008 from "U. Chicago" at [1].
^See, e.g., Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 408, entry "Pada," retrieved 25 November 2008 from "U. Chicago" at [2].
^See, for instance, C.A.F Rhys David's "Verses on Dhamma," Kalupahana's "The Path of Righteousness," Norman's "The Word of the Doctrine," Woodward's "The Buddha's Path of Virtue," and other titles identified below at "English translations".
^See also Fronsdal (2005), pp. xiii-xiv. Fronsdal, p. xiv, further comments: "... If we translate the title based on how the term dhammapada is used in the verses [see Dhp verses 44, 45, 102], it should probably be translated 'Sayings of the Dharma,' 'Verses of the Dharma,' or 'Teachings of the Dharma.' However, if we construe pada as 'path,' as in verse 21 ..., the title could be 'The Path of the Dharma.' Ultimately, as many translators clearly concur, it may be best not to translate the title at all."
^Pertinent episodes allegedly involving the historic Buddha are found in the commentary (Buddharakkhita & Bodhi, 1985, p. 4). In addition, a number of the Dhammapada's verses are identical with text from other parts of the Pali tipitaka that are directly attributed to the Buddha in the latter texts. For instance, Dhammapada verses 3, 5, 6, 328-330 can also be found in MN 128 (Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi, 2001, pp. 1009-1010, 1339 n. 1187).
More than half the verses may be found also in other canonical texts. The compiler of the [Dhammapada] however certainly did not depend solely on these canonical texts but also made use of the great mass of pithy sayings which formed a vast floating literature in India.
In a similar vein, Hinüber (2000), p. 45, para. 90 remarks: "The contents of the [Dhammapada] are mainly gnomic verses, many of which have hardly any relation to Buddhism."
^Brough (2001), pp. 44–45, summarizes his findings and inferences as:
"... We can with reasonable confidence say that the Gāndhārī text did not belong to the schools responsible for the Pali Dhammapada, the Udānavarga, and the Mahāvastu; and unless we are prepared to dispute the attribution of any of these, this excludes the Sarvāstivādins and the Lokottaravāda-Mahāsānghikas, as well as the Theravādins (and probably, in company with the last, the Mahīśāsakas). Among possible claimants, the Dharmaguptakas and Kāśyapīyas must be considered as eligible, but still other possibilities cannot be ruled out."
^Brough (2001). The original manuscript is believed to have been written in the first or second century CE.
More than half of [the Dhammapada verses] have parallels in corresponding collections in other Buddhist schools, frequently also in non-Buddhist texts. The interrelation of these different versions has been obscured by constant contamination in the course of the text transmission. This is particularly true in case of one of the Buddhist Sanskrit parallels. The Udānavarga originally was a text corres[p]onding to the Pāli Udāna.... By adding verses from the Dhp [Dhammapada] it was transformed into a Dhp parallel in course of time, which is a rare event in the evolution of Buddhist literature.
^Rockhill, William Woodville (trans.): Udānavarga : a collection of verses from the Buddhist canon compiled by Dharmatrāta being the Northern Buddhist version of Dhammapada / transl. from the Tibetan of the Bkah-hgyur, with notes and extracts from the commentary of Pradjnāvarman. London: Trübner 1883 PDF (9.1 MB)
^Ānandajoti (2007), "Introduction," "Sahassavagga" and "Bhikkhuvagga."
^Brough (2001), pp. 23–30. After considering the hypothesis that these texts might lack a "common ancestor," Brough (2001), p. 27, conjectures:
On the evidence of the texts themselves it is much more likely that the schools, in some manner or other, had inherited from the period before the schisms which separated them, a definite tradition of a Dharmapada-text which ought to be included in the canon, however fluctuating the contents of this text might have been, and however imprecise the concept even of a 'canon' at such an early period. The differing developments and rearrangements of the inherited material would have proceeded along similar lines to those which, in the Brahmanical schools, produced divergent but related collections of texts in the different Yajur-veda traditions.
He then continues:
... [When] only the common material [is] considered, a comparison of the Pali Dhammapada, the Gandhari text, and the Udanavarga, has produced no evidence whatsoever that any one of these has any superior claim to represent a 'primitive Dharmapada' more faithfully than the others. Since the contrary appears to have been assumed from time to time, it is desirable to say with emphasis that the Pali text is not the primitive Dharmapada. The assumption that it was would make its relationship to the other texts altogether incomprehensible.
^v. Hinüber, Oskar (2006). "Dhammapada". In Buswell, Robert E. Jr. (ed.). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism. USA: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 216–17. ISBN0-02-865910-4.
^English chapter titles based on Ānandajoti (2017).
^Brough (2001) orders the chapters of the Gandhari Dharmapada as follows: I. Brāhmaṇa; II. Bhikṣu; III. Tṛṣṇā; IV. Pāpa; V. Arhant; VI. Mārga; VII. Apramāda; VIII. Citta; IX. Bāla; X. Jarā; XI. Sukha; XII. Sthavira; XIII. Yamaka; XIV. Paṇḍita; XV. Bahuśruta; XVI. Prakīrṇaka (?); XVII. Krodha; XVIII. Pruṣpa; XIX. Sahasra; XX. Śīla (?); XXI. Kṛtya (?); XXII. Nāga, or Aśva (?); XXIII. - XVI. [Lost]. [Parenthesized question marks are part of Brough's titles.]
Cone (1989) orders the chapters of the Patna Dharmapada as follows: 1. Jama; 2. Apramāda; 3. Brāhmaṇa; 4. Bhikṣu; 5. Attha; 6. Śoka; 7. Kalyāṇī; 8. Puṣpa; 9. Tahna; 10. Mala; 11. Bāla; 12. Daṇḍa; 13. Śaraṇa; 14. Khānti; 15. Āsava; 16. Vācā; 17. Ātta; 18. Dadantī; 19. Citta; 20. Māgga; 21. Sahasra; [22. Uraga].
^Trainor, Kevin (1997). Relics, Ritual, and Representation in Buddhism: Rematerializing the Sri Lankan Theravada Tradition - Volume 10 of Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions. Cambridge University Press. p. 6. ISBN9780521582803.
Brough, John (2001). The Gāndhārī Dharmapada. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited.
Buswell, Robert E. (ed.) (2003). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN978-0-02-865718-9.
Cone, Margaret (transcriber) (1989). "Patna Dharmapada" in the Journal of the Pali Text Society (Vol. XIII), pp. 101–217. Oxford: PTS. Online text interspersed with Pali parallels compiled by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu (2007). Ancient Buddhist Texts Retrieved 06-15-2008.
Geiger, Wilhelm (trans. by Batakrishna Ghosh) (1943, 2004). Pāli Literature and Language. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN81-215-0716-2.
Harvey, Peter (1990, 2007). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-31333-3.
Hinüber, Oskar von (2000). A Handbook of Pāli Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN3-11-016738-7.
Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.) (2001). The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN0-86171-072-X.